dowse vs ret

dowse is a noun but ret is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
dowse	Yes	No	Yes	No
ret	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, ret is a hyponym of dowse; that is, ret is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than dowse:

dowse: cover with liquid; pour liquid onto
ret: place (flax, hemp, or jute) in liquid so as to promote loosening of the fibers from the woody tissue

Other hyponyms of dowse include brine, bedraggle, draggle, bate, flush, sluice.

dowse (noun)	ret (noun)
searching for underground water or minerals by using a dowsing rod

dowse (verb)	ret (verb)
cover with liquid; pour liquid onto	place (flax, hemp, or jute) in liquid so as to promote loosening of the fibers from the woody tissue
slacken
use a divining rod in search of underground water or metal
wet thoroughly